Back in the UK after 10 years in Thailand

[mlkik]

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

 

 

I pay 150bht for a 70cl bottle of Vodka in Thailand & 10bht for 4 large bell peppers.

Tell me how much you pay in the UK?

 

I drink beer and have no clue about vodka prices.

[bannork]

5 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

Speak for yourself, I spend most of my time at home as there is absolutely nothing here that interests me, I find this country extremely boring, plus it's way too hot. I have no doubt you will firmly disagree with that.

So why don't you go home?

[Khon Kaen Jeff]

Just now, bannork said:

So why don't you go home?

Stuck here for the time being, wife, young family. I have a plan but it requires more funds than I currently have, not easy at all when you have this type of baggage. Schooling, housing, visa for wife, finding a job all big big tasks.

[rorybreaker83]

Bit of an ambiguous report to be fair. 'Residue' found but no mention of any particular pesticide or chemical, 'Some are harmful'. Chemicals are permitted and deemed safe for use in agriculture under EU law.

 

There's a slight difference in this article about school food in Thailand ....

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/vegetables-and-fruits-in-student-lunches-heavily-contaminated-with-toxic-chemicals/

 

As well as .... 

'Besides the unsafe fruits and vegetables, Mr Marut said meat, meat balls and sausages used in student lunches were also found to be contaminated with borax and formalin.'

[bannork]

14 minutes ago, rorybreaker83 said:

Bit of an ambiguous report to be fair. 'Residue' found but no mention of any particular pesticide or chemical, 'Some are harmful'. Chemicals are permitted and deemed safe for use in agriculture under EU law.

 

There's a slight difference in this article about school food in Thailand ....

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/vegetables-and-fruits-in-student-lunches-heavily-contaminated-with-toxic-chemicals/

 

As well as .... 

'Besides the unsafe fruits and vegetables, Mr Marut said meat, meat balls and sausages used in student lunches were also found to be contaminated with borax and formalin.'

Should make a well preserved, if not good looking, corpse.

[Andrew Dwyer]

38 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

Hear what you're saying. It's always the weather reason isn't it. Must admit I'm not sure if I could get through a UK winter now. I was up in North Yorkshire last year, just stunning. Could see myself seeing my days out strolling around the dales, lovely pubs etc, but yes the weather, it's always the weather!

You sort of answered the question you put to me earlier.

While Yorkshire ( I’m from W Yorks ) is a beautiful place with stunning scenery its down to the weather, and not just the winter months, spring/summer/autumn can be unpredictable .

Sometimes felt like someone was having a laugh at our expense, sunny and pleasant Mon thru Fri, wet and windy at the weekend.

 

Realistically 4 or 5 months in the uk 7 or 8 here would work well, but commitments and the expense of maintaining 2 lifestyles wouldn’t work for me.

Its one or the other for me and I choose Thailand...... for now !!

If push comes to shove I could move back and adapt fairly easily I think, even after 25 years !!

[mlkik]

52 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

That would probably be because

supermarkets in the west are generally aimed at the poor.

supermarkets in Asia are generally aimed at the wealthy.

 

I always wonder at the foreigners shopping in Thai supermarkets that don't understand they are paying premium prices for almost everything. I guess you can't fix stupid!

 

I pay 150bht for a 70cl bottle of Vodka in Thailand, Tesco UK it's 11 quid (2.5x).

10bht for 4 large bell peppers at my local Thai market, in Tesco UK at least a pound (4x).

How are these UK prices cheaper?

 

A 4 pint bottle of milk in the UK is a quid ,here it is about 95 baht which is 2.5 x more.

I can buy a big bag of carrots for the price of 4 single carrots here.

Cheese is about 3 times the price here than in the UK.

A case of 20 440 ml cans of beer can be bought for 11 quid.

Potatoes I can buy at the farm shop by the hundred weight. Here much more expensive.

 

Yes of course their are many things here that are cheaper here but from experience doing a weekly shop in Aldi (not Tesco) I have found I spend less than I do in Thailand.

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by mlkik

[Khon Kaen Jeff]

7 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

You sort of answered the question you put to me earlier.

While Yorkshire ( I’m from W Yorks ) is a beautiful place with stunning scenery its down to the weather, and not just the winter months, spring/summer/autumn can be unpredictable .

Sometimes felt like someone was having a laugh at our expense, sunny and pleasant Mon thru Fri, wet and windy at the weekend.

 

Realistically 4 or 5 months in the uk 7 or 8 here would work well, but commitments and the expense of maintaining 2 lifestyles wouldn’t work for me.

Its one or the other for me and I choose Thailand...... for now !!

If push comes to shove I could move back and adapt fairly easily I think, even after 25 years !!

Yep, all makes sense my friend. It's a shame but nowt we can do about it.

 

Agree that one could adapt, I don't by into this reverse culture shock theory, when I go back for a visit it pretty much feels like the same as ever, so what would be different if I just stayed there? I'm stuck here for the time being but won't be here forever, not a chance.

 

Don't get me wrong though, there are things I still like about Thailand and some things I despise about the UK, but feel like I have outstayed my welcome here now.

Edited November 9, 2019 by Khon Kaen Jeff

[BritManToo]

15 minutes ago, mlkik said:

Cheese is about 3 times the price here than in the UK.

I just paid 275bht for 1Kg American yellow cheddar.

Last month 210bht for 1Kg Danish blue, and 275bht for 1Kg of mature Aussie Cheddar.

 

Agreed dairy products are generally more expensive in Thailand because they're foreign imports.

Cheese and milk are almost the only foreign imports I use ...... at double the price the extra cost per month is around 500bht, even at triple it would only be an extra 750bht.

 

I've saved that just on buying 3 bottles of spirits in Thailand, then add the savings by not paying council tax, heating bills, overly expensive accommodation fees, car insurance, MOT, road tax ...... etc.

 

Comparing cheap but trivial costs, but missing out the expensive but essential costs in the UK makes no sense to me at all. I don't need cheese, but I do need a roof over my head.

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by BritManToo

[mlkik]

8 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

 

 

Agreed dairy products are generally more expensive in Thailand because they're foreign imports.

But what I save on not paying council tax in the UK, makes up for any and all foreign imported food in Thailand.

 

Milk is produced here in Thailand and is not a foreign import.However it is 2.5 x more expensive.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by mlkik

[Samuel Smith]

2 minutes ago, mlkik said:

Milk is produced here in Thailand and is not a foreign import.However it is 2.5 x more expensive.

 

 

 

 

Milk is a loss leader in UK supermarkets.

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, mlkik said:

Milk is produced here in Thailand and is not a foreign import.However it is 2.5 x more expensive.

Between 50% and 75% of milk sold in Thailand is imported from China and New Zealand as milk powder and reconstituted in a Thai factory.

Foremost was a Thai company created to provide milk to American troops on R&R during the Vietnam war from imported powdered milk.

Edited November 9, 2019 by BritManToo

[Khon Kaen Jeff]

Jesus wept, people 'are' actually talking about the price of cheese. I assume you are as bored as I am waiting until beer o'clock.

[mlkik]

4 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

Jesus wept, people 'are' actually talking about the price of cheese. I assume you are as bored as I am waiting until beer o'clock.

Only 2 hours to go for me as 5pm is beer oclock yipeeeeee . Then it is my turn to annoy the mrs and neighbours with some loud blaring punk rock and cold beer.

[GalaxyMan]

8 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

Jesus wept, people 'are' actually talking about the price of cheese. I assume you are as bored as I am waiting until beer o'clock.

It's always beer o'clock somewhere... ????

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, mlkik said:

Only 2 hours to go for me as 5pm is beer oclock yipeeeeee . Then it is my turn to annoy the mrs and neighbours with some loud blaring punk rock and cold beer.

I've been downing my fake Baileys Irish Cream since mid-day.

[steven100]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I've been downing my fake Baileys Irish Cream since mid-day.

and what else …  

[poohy]

41 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

Jesus wept, people 'are' actually talking about the price of cheese. I assume you are as bored as I am waiting until beer o'clock.

 

[bannork]

53 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

Jesus wept, people 'are' actually talking about the price of cheese. I assume you are as bored as I am waiting until beer o'clock.

Buying cheese can be a trial in the UK too.

 

[baboon]

2 hours ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

Yep, all makes sense my friend. It's a shame but nowt we can do about it.

 

Agree that one could adapt, I don't by into this reverse culture shock theory, when I go back for a visit it pretty much feels like the same as ever, so what would be different if I just stayed there? I'm stuck here for the time being but won't be here forever, not a chance.

 

Don't get me wrong though, there are things I still like about Thailand and some things I despise about the UK, but feel like I have outstayed my welcome here now.

I hear you. Flew back last Monday, waved my Passport at Heathrow... and that was it. I can live where I want, do what I want, work where I want, stay as long as I want...

It's easy to forget all that when living in Thailand and trying to justify to yourself and / or others the ever-increasing nonsense that goes with living there.

[mlkik]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I just paid 275bht for 1Kg American yellow cheddar.

Last month 210bht for 1Kg Danish blue, and 275bht for 1Kg of mature Aussie Cheddar.

 

 

 

I've saved that just on buying 3 bottles of spirits in Thailand, then add the savings by not paying council tax, heating bills, overly expensive accommodation fees, car insurance, MOT, road tax ...... etc.

 

 

Not paying council tax is a big saving but my air con electricity bills per month are more here than my heating and electric in the UK.

My car road tax is about the same here for the new car I have and the insurance here is more expensive. Car service in UK is free on new cars but not here. However petrol is cheaper.

 

I love Thailand ,but also disslike a lot of things about it. I love the UK but also disslike a lot about it.

 

Looking forward to going back to the UK next month and seeing UK Subs and 999 in concert ! Then again in March returning to see Stiff Little Fingers and Cock Sparrer in concert.

 

However here I can sup on my cold beer outside every evening ! Maybee Thailand wins after all 555.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by mlkik

[sanemax]

5 minutes ago, mlkik said:

Not paying council tax is a big saving but my air con electricity bills per month are more here than my heating and electric in the UK.

My car road tax is about the same here for the new car I have and the insurance here is more expensive. Car service in UK is free on new cars but not here. However petrol is cheaper.

 

I love Thailand ,but also disslike a lot of things about it. I love the UK but also disslike a lot about it.

 

Looking forward to giing back to the UK next month and seeing UK Subs and 999 in concert ! Then again in March returning to see Stiff Little Fingers and Cock Sparrer in concert.

 

However here I can sup on my cold beer outside every evening ! Maybee Thailand wins after all 555.

 

 

The Cockney rejects are playing their first two albums live in their enitiety in London soon 

[sanemax]

14 minutes ago, mlkik said:

 

 

However here I can sup on my cold beer outside every evening ! Maybee Thailand wins after all 555.

 

 

You can drink cold beer outside every evening in ther UK as well , you just have to wear more clothes when its cold, thats all

[mlkik]

15 minutes ago, sanemax said:

The Cockney rejects are playing their first two albums live in their enitiety in London soon 

Yeah in November , I go back early December ! I saw them at the Rebellion festival in Blackpool in August , top band and a great gig as per norm.

 

[sanemax]

A pot of mint sauce and a bottle of venegar costs about £1 in the UK, in Thailand it is 240 Baht, £ 7 for both .

Jar of pickled onions in the UK 50 P , in Thailand 120 Baht , £3 +

[BritManToo]

34 minutes ago, mlkik said:

Not paying council tax is a big saving but my air con electricity bills per month are more here than my heating and electric in the UK.

My car road tax is about the same here for the new car I have and the insurance here is more expensive. Car service in UK is free on new cars but not here. However petrol is cheaper.

Not used air-con last month or this, I probably average 200bht/month over the year.

Got my pickup taxed, checked and insured last week, 2,465bht, that's about the price of the MOT in the UK.

Edited November 9, 2019 by BritManToo

[sanemax]

12 minutes ago, mlkik said:

Yeah in November , I go back early December ! I saw them at the Rebellion festival in Blackpool in August , top band and a great gig as per norm.

 

I managed to see these live at "home " at the Subterranean Ladbroke grove just after I got back 

 

 

[mlkik]

20 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Not used air-con last month or this, I probably average 200bht/month over the year.

Got my pickup taxed, checked and insured last week, 2,465bht, that's about the price of the MOT in the UK.

Well my car insurance was 17 000 baht for first class. I do not know what insurance you could get for that price ?

 

We use air con a lot ,just the same as in the UK I will put on the heating when I feel a bit cold.

I do not like to scrimp and save and pretend I have acclimatised !

[sirineou]

2 minutes ago, mlkik said:

Well my car insurance was 17 000 baht for first class. I do not know what insurance you could get for that price ?

 

We use air con a lot ,just the same as in the UK I will put on the heating when I feel a bit cold.

I do not like to scrimp and save and pretend I have acclimatised !

In the US, Florida , me, my wife and 24 year old daughter  have three cars, none of as has any tickets or accidents. 

We pay a litle over $500 (15,000 bht  ) per month.  and have a $500 deductible.

[mlkik]

26 minutes ago, sanemax said:

I managed to see these live at "home " at the Subterranean Ladbroke grove just after I got back 

 

 

I first saw Killing Joke when I was 14 ,38 years ago , at the UEA back in the day when Jaz played keyboards aswell as vocals. Saw them another couple of times within the space of a year and can say one of those gigs was louder than when I saw Motorhead !

I saw them again in 1990 but have not seen them since. Hope they play Rebellion next year as I have a ticket for the gig and the plane from BKK to Uk.